The Marin County Planning Commission voted 6–0 on Aug. 4 to deny an appeal and sustain a deputy zoning administrator’s conditional approval of a Tamalpais Community Service District (TCSD) use-permit amendment that would authorize two annual debris days and one household hazardous-waste day at the district’s corporation and maintenance yard at 305 Bell Lane, Mill Valley.

Planner Easton Ehlers told commissioners that TCSD’s amendment request, filed Jan. 16, 2025, seeks to formalize events the district has operated for roughly 20 years: two debris days (May and October, 8 a.m.–1 p.m., with setup beginning 7:30 a.m. and takedown to about 2 p.m.) and a household hazardous-waste day (a May Saturday, 9 a.m.–1 p.m., with setup and takedown windows). Ehlers said the deputy zoning administrator conditionally approved the amendment on June 16, 2025 and determined the project is exempt from preparing an environmental document under the CEQA guidelines’ Class 4 categorical exemption (Section 15.304). Staff recommended the commission deny the appellant’s petition to appeal, which raised four grounds: CEQA, land-use classification, noise, and public noticing.

Ehlers summarized staff responses: he said the environmental planning team reviewed and concurred with the categorical exemption and that the record includes operational exhibits and site plans demonstrating the events fit the land-use classification relied upon. On noise, staff characterized the events as temporary land uses subject to Program N0-1.3 and said the appellant’s cited noise study is outdated. For noticing, staff reported notice was published in the Independent Journal on June 1, 2025 and mailed to property owners within 300 feet on June 3, exceeding the county’s 10-day minimum and conforming with the cited Marin County code section.

TCSD General Manager Garrett Toi represented the applicant and reiterated support for staff’s recommendation. Toi described debris-day operations—what is accepted, how TCSD staff load and compact collected material into district trucks during the event—and said the household hazardous-waste day uses a licensed contractor, Clean Earth, for hazardous handling and off-site removal. "We contract with a vendor. In this case, it’s Clean Earth. They’re all fully licensed by the EPA and CalEPA," Toi said. He also told commissioners the district has collected more than 800 signatures in support of the application and asked the commission to rule rather than continue the hearing.

Several commissioners asked practical questions about who handles materials, whether hazardous waste is stored on-site, and the extent of prior complaints. Toi and staff said household hazardous materials are staged and removed the same day and are not stored long-term at the yard. Staff said the county’s Department of Public Works searched circulation records and found no previous traffic complaints tied to the events.

Multiple residents and TCSD board members spoke in favor of the amendment, emphasizing convenience for older residents, the district’s efforts to staff events to minimize neighborhood impacts, and the community and environmental benefits of on‑site collection days. One resident called the late continuance request “unfair” to attendees who had arranged their schedules to participate in the hearing.

Commissioners debated whether to grant a continuance after staff reported the appellant had submitted a late, lengthy letter; a majority said notice had been provided with ample time and no legal requirement compelled a continuance. The commission then voted to adopt the resolution denying the appeal and sustaining the deputy zoning administrator’s conditional approval. The roll-call vote recorded affirmative votes by the commissioners present, and the motion passed 6–0.

The resolution conditions required that all collection and processing activities for the debris-day and household hazardous-waste events occur on improved surfaces at the TCSD corporation and maintenance yard (305 Bell Lane). With the action concluded, the commission adjourned.